


The Plans That We Made

by oboe_she_didnt



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, yet another Christmas break fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oboe_she_didnt/pseuds/oboe_she_didnt
Summary: Anne was a woman with a plan.It was quite a good plan, if she did say so herself, one she formulated in between studying for final exams, turned into a concrete scheme by writing it down and sending it off to one particular recipient, and confirmed in a quick whisper during a fervent embrace.Kindred Spirits Secret Santa 2020 present for uncoordinated-house-cat on Tumblr!
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 51





	The Plans That We Made

Anne was a woman with a plan.

It was quite a good plan, if she did say so herself, one she formulated in between studying for final exams, turned into a concrete scheme by writing it down and sending it off to one particular recipient, and confirmed in a quick whisper during a fervent embrace. Step One of the plan was going off without a hitch, slightly to her surprise. Her biscuits were not burnt at all as she lifted them out of the oven with her apron, the result of an entire morning’s labor and an exercise in remembering the finer details of baking after a few months of fingers covered in ink instead of flour.

“Anne, those look marvelous. Mary would be proud,” Marilla said, sweeping her baker’s eye over Anne’s presentation, the lightly crisped biscuits sending a comfortingly warm smell around the kitchen.

“Well, I can’t let Mary take all the credit. I remembered plenty of your helpful tips,” Anne replied, prying up a few and wrapping them in a towel. Marilla put her hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed it. “I was wondering if I might take them over now, while they’re still warm?”

“I suppose, if you are back in an hour’s time. And Anne, I hope you remember our conversation from the other night.”

“Yes, Marilla,” Anne said, barely suppressing an eye roll as she remembered their conversation, which went along the lines of ‘Matthew and I trust you and Gilbert but don’t let yourselves be caught in a situation you don’t want spread around by Mrs. Lynde.’

“Excellent. I’ll finish cleaning up in here; make sure you bundle up.”

Anne lingered in the entrance for a few moments, taking care to arrange her scarf around her hair  _ just so _ while surreptitiously glancing out the front window. When she saw Step Two making his way across the field in the distance, she tossed a farewell to Marilla over her shoulder and gripped the handle of the basket with mittened hands. 

Anne casually walked past the barn, making sure she caught eyes with Matthew as he tinkered inside. Gilbert walked up purposefully to the barn. 

“Good morning, Miss Shirley-Cuthbert,” he winked.

“Good morning, Mr. Blythe. What brings you here today?”

“Bash needed to borrow some tools from Matthew,” Gilbert said, gesturing to where the older man had paused his work.

“By all means,” Anne said. Gilbert went into the barn, spoke with Matthew for a minute, and picked up a couple tools she didn’t know the names of, things used to tweak farming equipment. Gilbert thanked Matthew and raised an eyebrow at Anne expectantly.

“As it just so happens, Gilbert, I was on my way to your house to deliver these,” Anne said, lifting up her basket. 

“Would you like an escort, fair lady?” he asked, holding out his arm.

“I just might indeed.” She glanced back at Matthew, who nodded with a small smile on his face.

The pair started off towards the field, just passing the gate, suppressing smiles as each step they took brought them closer to Step Three, taking small glances at each other and trying to move as quickly as possible through the thick snow.

“ _ Allô _ . Where are you two off to?”

A voice from behind them called, startling them, forcing them to stop and whip around.

“Jerry,” Anne said through gritted teeth as the tall boy made his presence known. “What will it take to get you to go back to Green Gables and leave us alone? We’re just walking to his farm,” she continued, holding up her basket while Gilbert held up his tools.

“Aw, I’ll let you go. I was just reminiscing about the last time I caught you two staring at each other like you weren’t gonna see the other again.”

“I thought I  _ wasn’t _ going to see her again,” Gilbert shrugged. “I was taking my time until  _ someone _ interrupted us.”

Jerry held out his hands in surrender. “What can I say? Looks like it all turned out okay in the end. You stare at each other long enough, you’ll pick up on it eventually.”

Anne took that opportunity to spin around and continue their trek, with or without Gilbert, if only to get away from her brother. She heard Jerry’s footsteps crunching away in the snow and Gilbert appeared next to her. They took one look at each other and burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe I was that dense!” Anne said, feeling quite embarrassed on behalf of her thirteen-year-old self.

“In your defense, I did not go about things in the most clear way. See, there was this girl I liked, and apparently pulling her pretty hair wasn’t the way to get her attention and giving her an apple wasn’t the way to get her attention, but my genius younger self thought that if I just  _ stared  _ at her long enough, she might be able to read my mind and tell what I was thinking.  _ I  _ was an idiot.”

“Would you believe me if I said I was staring at you as though I’d never see you again too? You infuriated me, but you intrigued me. I didn’t want to forget you, in case I needed inspiration for a tragic hero for a story.”

“A tragic hero muse? Is that all you see me as?”

“Not anymore,” she said softly, wondering once again why her younger self thought the epitome of romance was a tragical one, when what she had was oh-so-much better. Cool lips found her cheek as she involuntarily shivered (from the cold, definitely the cold) and she unconsciously moved closer to him. Suddenly remembering they did, in fact, had only limited time on that particular day, she brought up The Plan once again.

“Marilla’s expecting me back in an hour, which gives us approximately twenty minutes to take a leisurely stroll, through the snow, to your home, and give me time to get back” Anne said.

“You have thought this through,” Gilbert said.

“My capers are not half-baked plans, Gilbert. I have had several successful ones before, I’ll have you know.”

“Train-hopping. I remember that one.”

“Not as convoluted as the soiree scheme, but quite exciting all the same,” Anne said. “Anyway, as you may recall, we are now in Step Three, in which we have a window of time for ourselves, away from the eyes of prying brothers and protective mothers. How would you best like to spend that time?”

“I’ll defer to you. You said your plans were not half-baked; I’m sure you have some idea of how to spend the rest of our walk?”

Anne nodded. “I do have an idea. One which should benefit both of us. We must keep our minds fresh on this vacation from the academic, but also satisfy the  _ us _ of it all.”

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Do go on.”

“A spelling challenge. Winner gets a kiss, loser gets a snowball.”

“I think I know which one I prefer,” Gilbert smirked.

“Risk getting a snowball for it?” Anne asked, stooping down to scoop up some snow. She put the basket handle over her arm and started to pack the snow together.

“Always. And because I’m a gentleman, I’ll let you pick if you want to go first.”

Anne mulled it over. “Ask away.”

“Can you spell for me...cerebral?” 

“Too easy! C-e-r-e-b-r-a-l,” she said happily. “How about...iridescent?” Gilbert closed his eyes to concentrate. 

“Iridescent...i-r-i-d-e-s-c-a-n-t.”

_ Thump _ . Anne’s snowball hit him somewhere between the top of his head and cheek, small flakes sticking to his face. “Wrong!”

“Are you going to tell me my mistake so I might not make it again?” he asked, blinking open his eyes.

“You forgot the ‘e’,” Anne crowed. “I-r-i-d-e-s-c- _ e _ -n-t.”

“Not the ‘e’!” Gilbert said in mock outrage. “I’m slipping!”

“You lost after one round; you’re darn right you’re slipping. What  _ are  _ they teaching you over in Ontario?”

“Not the flowery language of the prose of my beloved, that is for sure.” Gilbert said. “But may I offer you a kiss as a reward for besting me ever so quickly?”

“You cad, you did that on purpose,” Anne said, but nodding her consent all the same.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” he hedged, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. “Maybe I’ve perfected how to get a pretty girl’s attention.” He kissed her nose. “Letting her win spelling challenges?” He kissed her lips before she could respond.

“You already have my attention,” she said once she pulled away; it was rather too cold to be staying put in one place for long. “Perhaps we might start this competition fresh tomorrow?”

“Ah, yes, Christmas Eve. The big family dinner accompanied by a spelling bee.” Gilbert kissed her quickly again, before she even registered it. “I would love to. And I’ll bring my academic brain, not my fool-in-love brain, I promise.”

“I’ll still win though, fair and square.”

“But I’ll give you a good fight.”

“I expect nothing less.”

As the farm came into view, Anne dusted the snow off Gilbert’s hair, then took his hand in her free one, already looking forward to the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! I hope all of you have a safe holiday.
> 
> Find me on Twitter: @dianas_piano


End file.
